Tag: salad

Processed foods get a bad rep, and rightly so. They can be nutritional crap nicely packaged into a bag, box, or can–but not always. Most foods are processed. Processing isn’t black and white. There is a processing spectrum from minimally processed to unrecognizable with a long ingredient list. It goes from pre-washed, bagged spinach to that “strawberry” Poptart. Today, processing is necessary for the preservation, safe storage, and transportation of food. It is unrealistic for people to solely eat food from scratch especially given that the average American only spends 33 minutes a day doing food preparation and cleanup.

When you hear people speaking negatively about processed foods they mean the ones up there on the spectrum with the Poptarts, where any nutritional value has been completely diminished. But what about those foods in the middle of the spectrum? When does the processing cross over from being helpful to just plain unhealthy?

Spinach & White Bean Salad

The UN has said that this is the year of pulses. Pulses are nutritious, inexpensive, and good for the environment. But, these dry legumes require time-intensive cooking. It’s easy. SO EASY to do, and is almost all inactive cooking, but forethought is required to make pulses part of your meal. Pressure cookers cut the time down considerably, but the beans still need a least a few hours of soaking before they can be cooked.

Canned beans, on the other hand, just require a quick rinse and, unopened, they keep for an incredibly long time at that ready-to-eat stage. TIP: Canned beans once opened can last up to 2 days in the fridge and should be kept in a non-metallic container. Dried beans also last a long time, but once they’re cooked, in that ready-to-eat form, they only last 4-5 days in the refrigerator and up to 6 months in the freezer. Still, not bad. TIP:before you freeze cooked beans, cover them with water to prevent freezer burn.

Canned beans are more expensive than dried beans. At Walmart, a 15.5 oz can of great northern beans is $0.72 ($0.05/oz). Note: this is even kind of low, sometimes they will be closer to $1.o0. A 2 lb bag bag of great northern beans is $2.84 ($0.09/oz). But, here’s the kicker: That can of beans contains 1.75 cups of cooked beans. That bag of dried beans makes 12 cups of cooked beans. 12 CUPS! So, the canned beans cost $0.21 per 1/2 cup serving and the dried beans cost $0.12 per 1/2 cup serving. Worth pointing out that either way, beans are cheap for the nutrition they provide.

Nutritionally, canning can sometimes actually enhance various nutrients. For example, canned tomatoes have more lycopene than fresh tomatoes. And fruits and vegetables that are frozen at peak freshness are able to keep their nutritional profile and can be eaten all year round.

Dried beans, however, are nutritionally superior to canned beans for one big reason: sodium. You cook dried beans and therefore you have full control over how much sodium you add. Canned Great Northern beans, for example, have 485 mg sodium in a 1/2 cup serving. The low sodium version has 140 mg sodium…much better but still 140% times more than dried beans. You’ll see below in the comparison between dried great northern beans and (low sodium) canned great northern beans that the dried contain less carbohydrates and protein than the canned…consequently they contain a lower amount of calories. When you look at the percentage of calories these macronutrients contribute, however, it is about the same. The take away: Canned beans are still a nutritional powerhouse.So, if the ready-to-eat convenience of canning makes you more likely to eat them, then I’m all for it. Please do purchase the low sodium version and rinse them to get off some that starchy liquid and excess sodium. This will also help minimize the tooting that beans are infamous for catalyzing.

So, why have I switched to dried beans?
1. Cheaper
2. Slightly more nutritious
3. Still easy to make
4. FLAVOR.

Beans from a can do not compare to the taste of dried beans. Not kidding you. I didn’t want to believe it, but it’s true. TRY IT!

How do you cook dried beans you ask?? Here are the bean cooking basics:

Sort through the dry beans for any pebbles or beans that are shriveled.

Soak the beans in water for at least 8 hours or overnight. You can speed this soaking part up by boiling the beans for 2-3 minutes. Then remove from heat, cover and let soak for 2 hours. Either method requires about 10 cups of water per pound (~2 cups) of dried beans.

Drain the soaking water and rinse the beans with fresh water. Then cover with more fresh water and simmer for 1-2 hours until the beans are tender. The beans should be covered by water throughout the entire cooking time. Drain and add to whatever recipe you’re making. TIP: Don’t add salt or any kind of acidic food (tomatoes, lemon juice, vinegar, wine, etc) until the end of the beans’ cooking time. Salt toughens the skin and acids can keep the beans from ever getting tender.

I like to soak my beans the overnight the night before I want to have them for dinner. In the morning I rinse them and then put them into the crockpot on low or medium (sometimes I add a bay leaf or two) and let them cook while I do my day. When I get back, they are ready for dinner.

Now, that you’ve got your beans cooked, why not put them into this quick recipe?? Bonus with this one: because the spinach is wilted it is a great way to use up a lot of spinach if it is beginning to go bad.

Directions:1. Whisk all of the dressing ingredients together and set aside. You will likely have more dressing than you will use.
2. In a skillet over medium heat add enough broth to cover the bottom of the skillet. Add the spinach and allow it to wilt and the broth to reduce.
3. When there is room in the pan add in the beans and cook for just a minute more to allow more of the broth to reduce and the beans to warm.
4. Remove from the heat and add halved tomatoes, and basil.
5. Add the dressing a little at a time, tossing the salad between additions. The salad will already have moisture so add the dressing a little at a time, tossing the salad between additions.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Like this:

I am extremely fortunate to be in a dietetic internship that satisfies my love of traveling and trying new things through a variety of rotations in different locations. My most recent rotation was at a hospital in Chicago. Not only did I realize that I enjoyed clinical dietetics–something I previously wasn’t so sure about–but I had a fantastic time in Chicago hanging out with family and friends I don’t regularly get to see!

While in Chicago I was also able to eat at some amazing restaurants. One such restaurant was Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba, a tapa spot with a thirty year reputation for reliably providing delicious spanish cuisine. Not only did Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba satisfy the craving I’ve had for patatas bravas since my trip to Barcelona, but it introduced me to an AMAZING salad. The salad consisted of shaved brussels sprouts, almonds, and manchego cheese with a light dressing that perfectly complemented the heavier bread and potato dishes we had also ordered.

Weeks later I still can’t stop thinking about this salad–yes, it was THAT GOOD. Back in Cleveland and unable to get my fix, I’ve attempted to recreate it. The dressing I made isn’t exactly the same and I added kale, but I’m really happy with how it turned out!

You want the onion to be finely diced to achieve the onion flavor without any big bites of onion. Alternatively you could grate the onion.

The manchego cheese is, in my opinion, the star of this salad and worth the extra few dollars. But, if necessary you could substitute parmesan. The cheese could be grated instead of shaved, but I like the bigger chunks of cheese.

Roasting the almonds is a must-do. To roast, put almonds in a skillet on medium heat (no oil needed) until start to brown and be fragrant, about 3 minutes. Alternatively, place on baking sheet and bake for 10-15 min at 375 until brown and fragrant. The almonds might also start to “crackle.”

1. Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl.2. Combine all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to emulsify. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Toss salad with dressing. This salad is tasty right after preparation, but this is one of those salads that is even better after it has sat for a little while because the sprouts and kale get softer and more flavorful as they absorb the dressing!

Like this:

My friend and I spent this afternoon watching Auntie Fee’s cooking videos on YouTube. If you haven’t seen Auntie Fee in action, take a look:

She was recently featured in a segment on Jimmy Kimmel as well. Auntie Fee swears (repeatedly) that parsley will make anything taste good, which got me thinking that maybe I should make something with parsley for dinner. The result is this Lentil Parsley Tomato Salad.

Now, forget Auntie Fee’s parsley and let’s just chat about how great lentils are for a second: Considered a legume (think peas, beans, some nuts), lentils give you a lot of bang for your buck. Just a 1/4 cup (uncooked) of lentils packs 8 grams of protein, 0 grams of fat, and 9 grams of fiber into less than 100 kcals AND will cost only about $0.10! Tender and with a slightly nutty flavor, lentils will absorb most any flavor you want to pair them with making them perfect for salads, soups, mashed into dips, or used as an alternative to rice or potatoes. Alone, lentils can be kind of bland, but cook in chicken stock–or I like to add some wine–season with salt and pepper, and you’ve got yourself a great sidekick to any meal!

I used green lentils but you could use brown. I wouldn’t use red lentils, though, because they tend to get mushy when they’re cooked. Make sure you sift through the lentils to ensure that there aren’t any small pebbles and you want to wash the lentils to remove excess grit. Like with rice, you use a 1:2 lentil to liquid ratio to boil the lentils. Which type of liquid you use to cook the lentils is really flexible, but using a chicken or vegetable stock in addition to water really helps to add some flavor. I used a combination of chicken stock, red wine, and water to cook my lentils tonight.

The process of cooking lentils is the same as rice: bring to boil and then reduce to medium heat and let cook for 35-40 minutes. While the lentils are cooking, chop parsley (use fresh, the cost will balance out because the lentils are cheap and it’ll taste so much better), a red onion, a couple of cloves of garlic, and tomatoes (I just sliced cherry tomatoes in half). Quickly rinse the black eyed peas and white northern beans to remove all of the gross can juice (also cheap items btw). Add everything to a large bowl (to save some dishes, go ahead and mix everything in the serving bowl). Then just add in the apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, and the lentils when they are done cooking. When they’re done, the lentils will be soft but will still hold their shape, and almost all of the liquid will be gone. Just drain and discard any excess liquid.

This made a lot of salad because I just used a full can or bag of everything, but it will last for a while in the fridge and I bet it will only get tastier as it sits with the dressing. It can be served hot or cold. Maybe Auntie Fee has a future in the food show business after all if she’s inspiring dishes like this!

Directions:
1. Add lentils, water, chicken/vegetable stock, and wine to a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook until the lentils are soft but still hold their shape and almost all of the liquid has been absorbed. This will take about 35-40 minutes.
2. While the lentils cook, combine the rest of the ingredients into a large bowl.
3. Add the cooked lentils (draining and discarding any remaining liquid), and mix. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. The salad can be served hot or cold. Enjoy!